The matter was quickly settled. Only one small problem remained.
"Looks like we'll need to find a way to take an extended leave," Douglas said, troubled. "Clifton worships the sun fervently, and London is damp, cloudy, and foggy. To enjoy more sunlight, he moved to Morocco in North Africa with his followers a few years ago. He lives in Marrakesh now. From London, we'd have to take a ship to Casablanca, then a train to Marrakesh..."
He estimated the time and frowned. "Even if everything goes smoothly, the ship to Casablanca will take five or six days, and the train nearly another day. Two weeks for the round trip is the bare minimum. Add the time for the ritual... we might need a month off."
"A month's leave would be hard to get." Natalia frowned too. "It would draw attention."
That problem immediately became a roadblock.
If it was absolutely necessary, then so be it. But as fairly central members of the Suppression Bureau, they knew all too well that drawing attention was never good. For practitioners of the Invisible Arts, it was one of the greatest taboos.
Over the years, practitioners of the Invisible Arts who drew attention had either soared to the heavens in a single flight or... never been seen again.
If Longevity had been the goal, taking that gamble might have been worth it. But this trip was only to borrow Clifton's power to help Natalia advance, not to attain Longevity outright. Drawing attention for that hardly seemed worthwhile...
Pan Long understood their concerns. "How much leave can you take without drawing attention?"
"About a week," Natalia said. "Maybe a day or two more... Ten days would be all right, but no longer."
"Ten days..." Pan Long considered this for a moment. "About a week should